Former Presidents Clinton, Carter and Ford, as well as former Vice President Al Gore, joined Bush at the national prayer service to honor the thousands of victims of Tuesday's terrorist attacks. Gore -- Bush's bitter rival for the presidency -- flew back from a meeting in Austria on Thursday at the behest of the president.
Former President George Bush, the current president's father, was also in attendance as was the president's mother, former first lady Barbara Bush, and his wife, Laura, who walked up the center of the cathedral's main aisle, her hand locked tightly into the president's, moments before the service opened.
The capital city's sprawling cathedral, one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in the world, was filled with members of Congress, the Bush Cabinet, and a host of dignitaries and officials from all over the nation and the world.
Vice President Dick Cheney did not attend the service, the White House said Friday. Cheney was moved Thursday from the White House to the presidential retreat at Camp David in Maryland as a security precaution.
The Rev. Billy Graham, delivering remarks and prayers, said the incidents of terror experienced by the United States showed Americans needed each other and needed God.
"Today, we come together to confess our need of God. � Those perpetrators who took us on to tear us apart, it has worked the other way. It has backfired; it has brought us together," Graham said.
"September 11 will go down in our history as a day to remember," he added. "The spirit of this nation will not be defeated by twisted and diabolical schemes."
Bush was the only political figure to deliver remarks. Representatives from other religious denominations also read passages from scripture and offered prayers for unity, strength, justice and wisdom.
The Rev. Nathan Baxter, dean of the National Cathedral, prayed that the United States seek justice with an even, steady hand. "We ask for wisdom from the grace of God that we not become the evil we deplore," he said.
Imam Muzammil H. Siddiqi also spoke, saying: "Repel the evil with the good. Give us comfort. Help us in our distress."
A collection was taken up at the service. All proceeds were to be distributed to charitable organizations, and for cleanup efforts in New York and Arlington, Virginia.
Bush declared Friday a National Day of Prayer and Remembrance. He asked Americans to attend religious services of their choosing to pray for the victims of the terror attacks and also for the thousands involved in recovery efforts.
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